


Grandma's House

by Little_Miss_Rainstorm



Category: Lore Olympus (Webcomic)
Genre: Bad Parenting, Demeter being trash to her daughter because of who she married, Demeter being trash to her grandson because of who he looks like and what he represents, Demeter learning to freaking deal, F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fatherhood, Hurt/Comfort, Motherhood, Redemption
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:02:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26453050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Miss_Rainstorm/pseuds/Little_Miss_Rainstorm
Summary: Persephone has a highly contagious case of chickenpox. Artemis and Eros have already had it, so they're taking care of the Underworld Queen while Hecate runs the show.Hades and Zag, however, have not had it yet and so Persephone banishes them from the house. She PUPPY DOG EYESES at Hades until he agrees to take their son to visit with her mother in the Mortal Realm, the mother who is still yet to accept Zag or Hades, for that matter.
Relationships: Hades/Persephone (Lore Olympus)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 129





	Grandma's House

**Author's Note:**

> I am working on SBSB and Who You Once Were but having some writer's block so wanted to play around with a new idea to Clear the Pipes. 
> 
> This will be around 3 chapters and contains some toxic depictions of parental relationships and the fear of parenthood that toxic parents instill in their kids. Also infertility, self-hatred, control issues etc.

Hades materialized outside of his mother-in-law’s house, steeling himself to knock. The small, blue menace in his arms wriggled mercilessly, tugging at his father’s long hair with a delighted gurgle.

“Excuse me, young man,” Hades lifted his son up in front of him, his playfully stern expression making the small blue boy giggle helplessly. The boy pressed his feet, clad in pale green footie pyjamas into his father’s belly, attempting to climb up his sternum. “Best behaviour please, Zag,” Hades kissed his son on his soft, downy tuft of white hair, pulling him close to his chest and straightening the diaper bag on his shoulder. “Now or never, hm, buddy?”

Zag focussed on soothing his toothless gums on the edge of his father’s white shirt, gurgling happily as he snuggled into his shoulder. “Just what my outfit was missing, thanks bud,” Hades rolled his eyes, feeling a wave of overwhelming love for the child in his arms.

He still couldn’t quite believe he was a _father._ He had just been getting a fraction used to being a _husband_ to the most delightful goddess in the cosmos when she’d asked him, softly, one quiet evening as she laid against his chest. _How would you feel about a baby?_

Terrified, was the answer. Unspeakably, intensely, inescapably terrified. Persephone has held him through the ensuing panic attack, holding him close as he sobbed into her shirt.

_“I’m sorry baby,” she whispered into his hair, “I’m sorry, it’s okay, you’re safe my love, you’re safe…”_

_They had fallen asleep that night, tangled in each other. Her shirt was damp under his head the next morning, he remembered, but the fear had been replaced by a kernel of… something. He’d imagined it before, sure._

_A tiny blue baby staring up at him with innocent love. His beautiful wife, leaning down to kiss their son on his forehead as he clutched at her, catching the earrings Hades had given her in his fat little fists. She would giggle and, turning from their child, his Queen would kiss him next, wrapping her arms around her neck as their little boy babbled and giggled in oblivious amusement. What do my boys have planned today? She would ask, fixing Hades’s lapels. Cerberus would hop up on his son’s high-chair table, the boy and the dog sharing an unspoken confidence, before the giggling child would offer the hellhound a handful of goldfish crackers. The guardian of the Underworld would accept the Prince’s offering gratefully._

_“I want to try,” He said aloud to the room._

_“Hmmm?” Persephone stirred against him, her sleepy eyes blinking open._

_“Sorry, sweetness,” He hushed her, shuffling up the bed to lie nose to nose with her, “We can talk later, go back to sleep,”_

_“You’ve already woken me up, Aidoneus,” She grumbled, nuzzling his shoulder, “You can’t leave me hanging too!”_

_“I just… what you said last night. I’m not ready, yet, but I want to try eventually,” He kissed her forehead, “Would you come to therapy with me on Friday? I think I want… to talk about it. Start talking about it anyway,”_

_“If that’s what you want, my love,” Persephone muttered cautiously, “I didn’t m-mean to pressure you, my love,”_

_“You didn’t,” He soothed softly, “You didn’t. I just… between the fertility stuff and the f-f-father stuff it was just… overwhelming,” He sighed, trying to find the courage to be honest about what he wanted, “I always said I didn’t want a family because it wasn’t on the table for me, you know? But now…”_

_“We are a family, Aidoneus, you and me,” Persephone reached out for his hand, tangling their fingers together against the silken sheets, “We don’t need children to be a family,”_

_“I know, sweetness,” He squeezed her fingers, “but, the thing is, I would really… I would like to have children with you, one day”_

_“I would… I’d really like that too, my darling,” Persephone grinned widely in the darkness of their bedroom, pulling him close for a searing kiss._

Little did he know how easy it would be to love this squirming little boy in his arms. Little did he know how painfully full his heart would feel when Persephone held their child in her arms and he gathered them both up in his, holding his perfect little family in his arms. Little did he know how watching this tiny life, conceived out of the pure love he shared with his wife, grow and learn would fill his heart with joy.

This was why Hades found the courage to knock on his mother-in-law’s door. With Zag, he was baba. He was a protector and a role model, not merely a blue idiot full of self-hatred. He would not show his son how to be afraid. And, as difficult as Demeter had made his and Persephone’s life, he knew that his wife still loved her deeply and wanted desperately for her to have a relationship with their child.

The somber green goddess had barely looked at him since he was born, and Persephone could not even begin to hide the pain that this brought her. Hades tried to quell his rage but adult cruelty visited on innocent children was a particularly sore point for him. How could anyone, he thought, bouncing at his knees slightly to make his son giggle, hate such an innocent creature? How could anyone meet his unfiltered joy with disdain? Hades swallowed down his anger and climbed the porch steps.

Hades reached out to knock on the door, wondering how the boy in his arms would respond to his grandmother. Persephone had shown a greater deal of grace than Hades had expected even of her, showing the little boy a photo of Demeter each day before bed. Still, they had never tested his understanding of who she was before. _Oh well,_ he thought, _I guess we’ll find out._ He knocked smartly three times and took an instinctive step back. The Goddess of the Harvest answered the door, her eyes immediately narrowing into slits.

“ _Hades,_ ” She hissed.

“Demeter,” He greeted nervously.

“Gamma!” Zag gurgled happily, reaching out his tiny blue hands to her.


End file.
